Unlike the terrestrial planets, Jupiter and Saturn exhibit differential rotation, See Why...

Observations of features like the Great Red Spot and smaller

storms allow astronomers to determine how rapidly Jupiter and

Saturn rotate. At its equator, Jupiter completes a full rotation in

only 9 hours, 50 minutes, and 28 seconds, making it not only the

largest and most massive planet in the solar system but also the

one with the fastest rotation. However, Jupiter rotates in a strikingly

different way from the Earth, the Moon, Mercury, Venus,

or Mars.

Differential Rotation:

If Jupiter were a solid body like a terrestrial planet (or, for that

matter, a billiard ball), all parts of Jupiter’s surface would rotate

through one complete circle in this same amount of time (Figure

12-3a). But by watching features in Jupiter’s cloud cover, Gian

Domenico Cassini discovered in 1690 that the polar regions of

the planet rotate a little more slowly than do the equatorial regions.

(You may recall this Italian astronomer from Section 11-2

as the gifted observer who first determined Mars’s rate of rotation.)

Near the poles, the rotation period of Jupiter’s atmosphere

is about 9 hours, 55 minutes, and 41 seconds. Saturn, too, has alonger rotation period near its poles (10 hours, 39 minutes, and

24 seconds) than at its equator (10 hours, 13 minutes, and

59 seconds).

Comments

The Ptolemaic System

Explaining the nonuniform motions of the five planets was one of the main challenges facing the astronomers of antiquity. The Greeks developed many theories to account for retrograde motion and the loops that the planets trace out against the background stars. One of the most successful and enduring models was originated by Apollonius of Perga and by Hipparchus in the second century B.C. and expanded upon by Ptolemy, the last of the great Greek astronomers, during the second century A.D. sketches the basic concept, usually called the Ptolemaic system. Each planet is assumed to move in a small circle called an epicycle, whose center in turn moves in a larger circle, called a deferent, which is centered approximately on the Earth. Both the epicycle and deferent rotate in the same direction As viewed from Earth, the epicycle moves eastward along the deferent. Most of the time the eastward motion of the planet on its epicycle adds to th...

Effects Of Change In Interest Rates.

When interest rates change , there are real-world effects on the ways that consumers and businesses can access credit to make necessary purchases and plan their finances. Here are some reasons for change in interest rates:- Central banks cut interest rates when the economy slows down in order to re-invigorate economic activity and growth. The goal is to reduce the cost of borrowing so that people and companies are more willing to invest and spend. Interest rate changes spill over to many facets of the economy, including mortgage rates and home sales, consumer credit and consumption, and stock market movements. Impact of a Fed Interest Rate Change: Savings: In theory, that should boost savings among consumers and businesses as they can generate a higher return on their savings. On the other hand, the effect may be that anyone with a debt burden would instead seek to pay off their financial obligations to offset the higher variable rates tied to credit cards, home loans, or other debt i...

What is Solidity programming language?

Solidity is an object-oriented, high-level language for implementing smart contracts. Smart contracts are programs which govern the behaviour of accounts within the Ethereum state. Solidity was influenced by C++, Python and JavaScript and is designed to target the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Solidity is statically typed, supports inheritance, libraries and complex user-defined types among other features. With Solidity you can create contracts for uses such as voting, crowdfunding, blind auctions, a...

PhySite

Search This Blog